Horse Shoe store paused by commissioners

Published: Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, April 1, 2013 at 11:41 p.m.

HORSE SHOE - County commissioners put the brakes on rezoning to allow a new retail store Monday, after eight Horse Shoe residents said it would exacerbate an already accident-prone stretch of Highway 64 and alter the peaceful nature of their neighborhood.

By a 5-0 vote, commissioners tabled further action on the rezoning until The Broadway Group, an Alabama-based commercial development company that represents Dollar General stores, brings back a traffic impact study and the board can examine site plans more closely.

Rezoning 1.71 acres next to Horse Shoe Baptist Church from rural residential to community commercial conditional would allow construction of a 9,100-square-foot retail store that would employ 10-12 people, said Melissa Ballard, due diligence coordinator for The Broadway Group.

Residents said the store’s proposed entrance onto Highway 64, located west of the Banner Farm Road intersection, will just make a hazardous section of road more perilous. Fred Diehn, who lives near the proposed store, cited state crash data showing 32 accidents between Cummings Road and Banner Farm from 2007-2011.

In its 2009 Etowah-Horse Shoe Community Plan and at other times when rezoning was proposed in the past, Diehn said the community made it clear they want to retain the area’s rural, residential character.

“I would like to implore you,” Diehn said “We have turned you down three times. Don’t do it again. If someone wants to put a store in, put it inside an existing area that’s already zoned business. There’s plenty of vacant land.”

But Ballard told commissioners her tenant had looked at other parcels in the area. “Either it wasn’t for sale or it wasn’t in our tenant’s budget,” she said, adding the N.C. Department of Transportation had approved their site plan.

Resident David Hadden, whose home of 39 years would overlook the new store, agreed the proposed entrance is dangerous. He also expressed concerns about light pollution from the store’s parking lot, asking the board to ensure the project abides by the standards set out in the 2009 community plan.

Those conditions prohibit unfinished metal roofing, require store frontages of at least 30 percent brick or stone, restrict signage to 8 feet in height and demand “semi-cutoff or full-cutoff lighting.” Ballard said the “beautiful brick building” will feature full-cutoff lights and exceed all other standards in the plan.

Horse Shoe Baptist Church leaders oppose the rezoning because of the potential for beer and wine sales, along with the increased probability of break-ins, said Marvin Metcalf, a church deacon. Someone broke into the church about a year ago, he said, and stole copper pipe from its basement.

Asked by Commissioner Larry Young whether the store intended to sell alcoholic beverages, Ballard said, “Our tenant does not necessarily plan to sell alcohol in any location that they build and if there are ordinances that prohibit alcohol sales within certain distances of a church or a school, then they obviously don’t even apply.”

But many Dollar General stores do sell beer and wine, according to records with the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, including a Dollar General store in Mills River. Ballard said if the store did apply for an ABC license to sell beer and wine at that location, the county could oppose it at that time.

Pastor Tollie Cunningham said Sundays are especially busy in Horse Shoe, due to two churches within a short span of road. “That curve there coming from Etowah, it’s short and it’s hard to see when you come out of there, so you have to be very careful with that,” he said.

Under current zoning, landowner Roger Gagnon could put up to two homes on the property, with 10-foot setbacks required on the side and rear of the buildings. If rezoned to community commercial, the county would allow a store no larger than 30,000 square feet, with less than 80 percent of the property paved.

Planner Parker Sloan said a traffic impact study was not required because the county’s Land Development Code requires that only for stores with 1,000 visitors per day and “this is not estimated to be anywhere near that. Probably less than half of that.”

Despite that, Thompson said he was not willing to vote on the rezoning until he sees a study by a “qualified engineer” that looks at whether the traffic light at Banner Farm Road needs to be shifted to accommodate store traffic, whether the developer needs to install turn lanes and the timing of traffic volumes. Young agreed.

Chairman Charlie Messer said the potential traffic hazards and alcohol sales near a church were his biggest concerns, while Hawkins said the Etowah-Horse Shoe community had spent a lot of time and effort coming up with a long-range plan for the area.

“The ink is barely dry on this 2010 update and we want to change it again,” he said. “I just can’t support that with what we’re looking at.”

Edney said he believes a man or woman should “be allowed to do what they want to with their own property as long as they’re not going to hurt anybody else. So I want to know if we can impose conditions which will not cause harm to the folks around this property and allow him to do what he wants to with his own property.”

<p>HORSE SHOE - County commissioners put the brakes on rezoning to allow a new retail store Monday, after eight Horse Shoe residents said it would exacerbate an already accident-prone stretch of Highway 64 and alter the peaceful nature of their neighborhood.</p><p>By a 5-0 vote, commissioners tabled further action on the rezoning until The Broadway Group, an Alabama-based commercial development company that represents Dollar General stores, brings back a traffic impact study and the board can examine site plans more closely.</p><p>Rezoning 1.71 acres next to Horse Shoe Baptist Church from rural residential to community commercial conditional would allow construction of a 9,100-square-foot retail store that would employ 10-12 people, said Melissa Ballard, due diligence coordinator for The Broadway Group.</p><p>Residents said the store's proposed entrance onto Highway 64, located west of the Banner Farm Road intersection, will just make a hazardous section of road more perilous. Fred Diehn, who lives near the proposed store, cited state crash data showing 32 accidents between Cummings Road and Banner Farm from 2007-2011.</p><p>In its 2009 Etowah-Horse Shoe Community Plan and at other times when rezoning was proposed in the past, Diehn said the community made it clear they want to retain the area's rural, residential character.</p><p>“I would like to implore you,” Diehn said “We have turned you down three times. Don't do it again. If someone wants to put a store in, put it inside an existing area that's already zoned business. There's plenty of vacant land.”</p><p>But Ballard told commissioners her tenant had looked at other parcels in the area. “Either it wasn't for sale or it wasn't in our tenant's budget,” she said, adding the N.C. Department of Transportation had approved their site plan.</p><p>Resident David Hadden, whose home of 39 years would overlook the new store, agreed the proposed entrance is dangerous. He also expressed concerns about light pollution from the store's parking lot, asking the board to ensure the project abides by the standards set out in the 2009 community plan.</p><p>Those conditions prohibit unfinished metal roofing, require store frontages of at least 30 percent brick or stone, restrict signage to 8 feet in height and demand “semi-cutoff or full-cutoff lighting.” Ballard said the “beautiful brick building” will feature full-cutoff lights and exceed all other standards in the plan.</p><p>Horse Shoe Baptist Church leaders oppose the rezoning because of the potential for beer and wine sales, along with the increased probability of break-ins, said Marvin Metcalf, a church deacon. Someone broke into the church about a year ago, he said, and stole copper pipe from its basement.</p><p>Asked by Commissioner Larry Young whether the store intended to sell alcoholic beverages, Ballard said, “Our tenant does not necessarily plan to sell alcohol in any location that they build and if there are ordinances that prohibit alcohol sales within certain distances of a church or a school, then they obviously don't even apply.”</p><p>But many Dollar General stores do sell beer and wine, according to records with the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, including a Dollar General store in Mills River. Ballard said if the store did apply for an ABC license to sell beer and wine at that location, the county could oppose it at that time.</p><p>Pastor Tollie Cunningham said Sundays are especially busy in Horse Shoe, due to two churches within a short span of road. “That curve there coming from Etowah, it's short and it's hard to see when you come out of there, so you have to be very careful with that,” he said.</p><p>Under current zoning, landowner Roger Gagnon could put up to two homes on the property, with 10-foot setbacks required on the side and rear of the buildings. If rezoned to community commercial, the county would allow a store no larger than 30,000 square feet, with less than 80 percent of the property paved.</p><p>Planner Parker Sloan said a traffic impact study was not required because the county's Land Development Code requires that only for stores with 1,000 visitors per day and “this is not estimated to be anywhere near that. Probably less than half of that.”</p><p>Despite that, Thompson said he was not willing to vote on the rezoning until he sees a study by a “qualified engineer” that looks at whether the traffic light at Banner Farm Road needs to be shifted to accommodate store traffic, whether the developer needs to install turn lanes and the timing of traffic volumes. Young agreed.</p><p>Chairman Charlie Messer said the potential traffic hazards and alcohol sales near a church were his biggest concerns, while Hawkins said the Etowah-Horse Shoe community had spent a lot of time and effort coming up with a long-range plan for the area.</p><p>“The ink is barely dry on this 2010 update and we want to change it again,” he said. “I just can't support that with what we're looking at.”</p><p>Edney said he believes a man or woman should “be allowed to do what they want to with their own property as long as they're not going to hurt anybody else. So I want to know if we can impose conditions which will not cause harm to the folks around this property and allow him to do what he wants to with his own property.”</p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com</p>